An Austrian court has found a Gambian man guilty of killing an American woman and sentenced him to life in prison.

The victim, 25-year old Lauren Mann of Colorado, was found dead in her apartment in January. Police and firefighters who forced open her door found her body on a mattress in the bedroom. Police say she was suffocated.

The court in Vienna found the perpetrator guilty of murder before handing down the sentence Wednesday. He was identified only as Abdou I., in line with Austrian privacy laws.

The man says he did not kill the victim. His lawyer, Astrid Wagner, says she will appeal.

The prosecution had argued that the perpetrator had killed Mann after finding her with another partner.